Lafayette Reporter

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana recently addressed the Senate, expressing support for the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) efforts to identify wasteful spending at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In his speech, Kennedy emphasized that many Americans are aware of these issues.

Kennedy highlighted concerns over specific allocations made by USAID. "Americans have had to live through 20% inflation under President Biden. They understand what [Elon] Musk is doing. They understand spending porn and wasting taxpayer money," he stated.

He detailed some of the expenditures uncovered by DOGE, led by Elon Musk, saying, "Now, Mr. Musk started with USAID... He found that USAID gave money to support electric vehicles in Vietnam—our money, taxpayer money. He found that USAID gave money to a transgender clinic in India. I didn’t know that. I bet you the American people didn’t know that."

Kennedy further noted another instance: "He found that USAID gave $1.5 million to a Serbian LGBTQ group... They got $1.5 million to ‘advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.’ What else did Mr. Musk find that my colleagues don’t want to talk about?"

The senator acknowledged not all USAID activities are wasteful but insisted there is significant unnecessary expenditure: "Now, I am not saying everything that USAID does is wasted, but I am saying a lot of it is—a hell of a lot of it is—and we ought to be on the floor of this United States Senate thanking Mr. Musk, and we ought to be asking him to go through every agency and look at everybody’s budget—everybody’s budget."

Kennedy concluded by emphasizing the public's desire for fiscal responsibility: "That is what the American people want. They don’t want to talk about process. They don’t want to continue with the Washington way. They want to save some money."